Activation methods on iPhone 4, 4.2.1 with no original carrier simcard

[kecskesadam]

Hi guys,

I have an iPhone 4, on 4.2.1, unactivated, and I don't have an original carrier simcard to activate it.

I'd like to jailbreak it (on 4.2.1 or on 4.3.1), and of course activate it. What are my options?

I'm not sure if I understood right that greenpois0n won't hacktivate, redsn0w can do that, and there's this SAM method as well...

Any help much appreciated!

[goofball2k]

SAM is probably the best method, as I found doing hacktivation, battery life was terrible.

[kofster]

I myself have run into the same problem when trying to activate a Swedish phone. SAM doesn't work for most carriers and @anethema's push doctor does only so well on certain phones. If anyone has found a solution, please let me know. Thanks.

[kecskesadam]

Ok, so how do I know if SAM works for the phone's original carrier? If it doesn't, what can I do? (hacktivate, yes, but how? what tool?)

Also, I need some precise indications, how to go from here ("connect to iTunes" screen, on 4.2.1).

Sorry, it's a friends' phone, I for one always have had an original carrier sim so far, so I've no clue how to do this, and I really don't want to make him screw up his phone with unprecise or false information...

[goofball2k]

snowbreeze can modify to hack the ipsw. Then you use itunes to do a full wipe/restore of the phone using that custom ipsw.

Otherwise, look here for how to activate without an official sim.

How to Activate iPhone 4, 3GS, 3G without Official SIM using SAM

[kecskesadam]

Thanks. There are some confusions though.

What does exactly the "connect to itunes" screen mean? In which mode is the phone then? And how do I perform a jailbreak from here? I mean should I just hit that with greenpois0n? And how do I get passed the "connect to itunes" screen after JB to fire up cydia and to add the repo to perform SAM? or there won't be a screen like that, cause it's not even the sign of the non activation but something else?

[goofball2k]

What does exactly the "connect to itunes" screen mean? In which mode is the phone then?

It is in pre-activated mode. Meaning it is not ready for use yet. It needs to connect to iTunes so that it can connect to apple to activate.

And how do I perform a jailbreak from here? I mean should I just hit that with greenpois0n? And how do I get passed the "connect to itunes" screen after JB to fire up cydia and to add the repo to perform SAM? or there won't be a screen like that, cause it's not even the sign of the non activation but something else?

You need it hacktivated at this point. So yes, you are right, that you aren't able to do much else at this point other than JB. I believe using redsn0w, it can activate the phone so you can get into cydia and then do the sam/deactivate part.

[kecskesadam]

Thanks man, I think it's all clear now. Really appreciate it!